The next piece of the 2023 puzzle is in place. Today, KTM and Ducati announced that Jack Miller will leave the factory Ducati team at the end of 2022 and join KTM for the 2023 and 2024 seasons to race in the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team.
Miller is no stranger to KTM. The Australian racer raced for KTM during his final year in Moto3, before switching to MotoGP. He is managed by Aki Ajo, the veteran team manager of KTM’s Moto2 and Moto3 teams.
So KTM’s return is no surprise, and has been the subject of rumors for several weeks now.
Miller’s arrival means Miguel Oliveira’s departure. The Portuguese racer has been offered a spot on the Tech3 KTM satellite team, but he has publicly stated that he is not interested in returning to Tech3.
Oliveira has been linked with both LCR Honda and Gresini Ducati, with Ducati arguably the most likely destination at the moment.
Miller’s signing brings the number of riders under contract for 2023 and beyond to eight.
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli will continue on the Monster Energy Yamaha team, Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales will remain on the Aprilia factory team, while Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia will stay with the Repsol Honda and Ducati Lenovo respectively.
Miller and Brad Binder at Red Bull KTM are the other two.
The next announcement is expected that Pol Espargaro will move to the Tech3 KTM team, possibly replacing the position vacated by Raul Fernandez. That announcement is said to be imminent.
Fernandez is expected to join the RNF Aprilia team in 2023, while there are strong indications that Joan Mir will replace Pol Espargaro in the Repsol Honda team.
The battle for the second factory Ducati team is between Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini, but a decision on that is unlikely to be made until after the summer break.
Source: KTM
